The family item I chose is our family's feathers. I did some research on where my ancestors came from, and I’ve found out that we come from the Navajo and Apache tribes. I knew that we came from the barren desert of Colorado and New Mexico. I would describe the feather as a vulture feather with black and gray on the end of the feather. The object is made with a feather and decorated with beads. My object is used to keep us under the protection of the Holy People. Navajo believed these divine beings guide our lives and can protect us. My great-grandfather passed this tradition onto us. He lived in Cortez, Colorado. I first learned about this object when I saw the feather in my mom and dad’s car. A majority of my family in Colorado and New Mexico follow this tradition. It shows our pride in our Native American ancestry. This object makes me feel protected by the Holy People. My feather is important to me because the tradition has been in my family for generations.  Like a lot of Native American descendants, we feel very connected to our ancestors and to the stories and beliefs that they passed down. Even though we now live in North Dakota, we will continue to uphold our spiritual connections and pass them down to the next generations. 

– Daniel Montoya

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more